Get ThinBlueFlorida via Email
Search ThinBlueFlorida.com
Follow ThinBlueFlorida.com!
Popular Articles
- Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 380 Laser Batteries
- Update to LAPD Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 380 Review
- KA-BAR TDI Knife Review: Unsafe for Duty
- The One-Ass-To-Risk Story
- XS Express Sight Set for the Bodyguard 380
- Review of the New Kahr Arms CM40
- SCCY CPX-2 Pistol Review
- New KA-BAR TDI Hinderance and Hell Fire Knives
- Polaris Defense Shows Off Non-Pneumatic Tires for ATV
- Diamondback DB9 Long Term Test and Review
Monthly Archives: May 2013
Blade Show & International Cutlery Fair 2013
I’m headed over one state to the 32nd Annual Blade Show & International Cutlery Fair at the Cobb Galleria in Atlanta. As you may have read, I like sharp thingies. I’ll keep my eye out for anything new from the Law Enforcement/SWAT/Military point of view. There will certainly be some products to see. Be safe. Randall
Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 380 Laser Batteries
The Insight laser on my Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 380 fizzled out. I have had the gun for several years now. I function check the laser periodically, like most of my gear, since the Bodyguard is my often carried back-up gun on duty. I turned the laser on and it produced a weak light. Then it shut down entirely. No problem. Or so I thought. I fetched my original S&W box and owner’s manual. There is a tiny Allen wrench in the blue box. I mean it is super small hex key. It is nothing you would normally have on your workbench. The key is specific to adjusting, and also … Continue reading
New Gerber Propel Downrange Folding Knives
Missing from SOFIC this year were many of the knife manufacturers I normally visit. I think Gerber Legendary Blades was the only maker I saw at the show. After he showed me the Downrange Tomahawk, the Gerber Rep said they had new folders for 2013. The Gerber Propel knives have 3.5″ blades and G-10 scales. With overall lengths of 8.52″ and weights at 4.28 oz’s, the Propels are solid tools. There are versions in black or tan G-10. You can also choose between an assisted opening model or a full automatic model. Designed and Built in Portland, OR S30V Blade Steel or 420HC Tanto Style Partially Serrated Blade Black Oxide … Continue reading
Posted in Knives, SOFIC
Tagged Gerber Knives, knife review, Military and Police folding knife
Leave a comment
Combat Flip Flops Vs. K9 Malinois
In case you haven’t heard of Combat Flip Flops, here is something from their website: “The journey began with the 75th Ranger Regiment. Lee and Griff made their first trip to Afghanistan in the Winter of 2003. After several deployments and reality of a growing families, they separated from the military in 2006 and continued to support troops through other avenues. In 2010, Griff returned to Afghanistan to assist the growing Afghan National Army. On that trip, he toured an Afghan-owned boot manufacturing plant and saw where a factory worker punched a flip flop thong through a combat boot sole. The idea was born. “We started Combat Flip Flops with … Continue reading
Atlas Devices Lightweight Tactical Ladder
Cool looking ladder. The Atlas Devices vendor was busy showing it to a guy in khaki pants and a polo shirt. His name badge read only USSOCOM. No name. No branch. No unit. A real Operator. With a U.S. government line of credit. I wanted to see the ladder, but the free market kinda had the floor. I came back to Atlas’ SOFIC booth an hour later. My audience was granted at that point. This lightweight tactical ladder articulated out to 10′. It weighed a mere 12 lbs. It was obviously strong, as the vendor extended it fully, propped each end onto a Pelican case, then stood in its middle … Continue reading
Posted in SOFIC, SWAT, Technology
Tagged Atlas Devices, Lightweight Tactical Ladder, SOFIC, Special Operations
Leave a comment
New Gerber Downrange Tomahawk
New for 2013, Gerber’s Made in the USA Downrange Tomahawk. I took a couple of quick photos of the Tomahawk and their new Rescue Axe at SOFIC. The Downrange Tomahawk sports an axe face with a hammer head at its rear. The handle is full tang and has a pry bar at the lower end. Finger grooves in the head of the axe allow the user to get leverage to force the pry bar into jambs and seams. The steel for the Downrange Tomahawk is 420HC. It is blackened with KG Gun Kote. Desert Tan G-10 handle scales are bolted on. The Tomahawk is 19.27″ overall and weighs in at … Continue reading
Polaris Defense Shows Off Non-Pneumatic Tires for ATV
We were walking by the Polaris Defense booth at the SOFIC Show and saw some rebar sticking out of an ATV tire. Upon closer inspection, the tires were a see-though honeycomb design between the rim and tread that supported the weight of the vehicle. Polaris calls the tires the NPT for non-pneumatic tire. They aren’t run-flat, they are never-flat. The implications of this type of airless design are vast. Polaris Defense acquired Resilient Technologies, LL, who had been researching and constructing never-flat tires for several years. According to Polaris, “The NPT is composed of a central polymeric web surrounded by a rubber tread band which allows continuous operation, even if … Continue reading
Special Operations Forces Industry Conference 2013
BlueSheepdog Richard and I just got back from the Special Operations Forces Industry Conference (SOFIC) in Tampa. The conference has a show floor that we attend every year. This year it was again awash in stealth plane and helicopter mock-ups, mini-guns, tents, rigid inflatable boats, off road vehicles, combat information systems, and sat-com dishes. General photos of the show floor are prohibited to protect the identities of the many Spec Ops personnel in attendance. I really wanted to get some pictures of all the cool cutting edge hardware, but I respect the operational security of the event. I got to check out some interesting equipment that may be of LE … Continue reading
New CopDots Technology Aids Law Enforcement
CopDots™ is a unique method for marking personal property to deter theft and identify stolen items. Using an applicator pen, the owner marks a piece of property with tiny microdots the size of a grain of sand. The dots are laser etched with a personal identification number (PIN) that is registered to the owner. The PIN’s are stored in a secure international database, which is only accessible to law enforcement. The microdots are affixed with a special adhesive. The adhesive fluoresces under UV light. A 30X magnification is required to read the serial number. As an owner applied number, the PIN can be entered into NCIC/FCIC for later recovery of the … Continue reading
Posted in Misc., Technology
Tagged CopDots, CopDots DNA, DataDots Technology Ltd, FLEPRU, IACP, Recovering Stolen Property
Leave a comment
Mil-Spec Monkey Hoodie RAW
The weather was a bit cool last week when I was in NYC. I wanted to take something warm to wear that would extend below my waist and cover up the Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 380 and holster I had stashed in my right front pants pocket. I bought a Mil-Spec Monkey Hoodie RAW last November and it was just right for the trip. I met The Monkey a few years back at SHOT Show after I had contracted him to make morale patches for BlueSheepdog, and then more for ThinBlueFlorida. We were very satisfied with his professionalism and his products. I didn’t get to talk to him this year, … Continue reading
Video of the Shoot Out at a Miami-Dade Narcotics Raid
Chilling video of an ambush at a Miami-Dade Police drug raid last July was released Thursday. Thankfully, the officers prevailed. Suspect Gerardo Delgado died. Det. John Saavedra was shot three times, below his ballistic vest, but survived. Eighty pounds of marijuana and $90,000.00 were found in the house. Homeowner Luis Estevanell, who is the other suspect seen in the video, was charged with Possession of Cocaine, Trafficking in Marijuana, and Second-Degree Murder. Situational awareness can save your Applewood Smoked Bacon. Don’t pass things you haven’t cleared (when humanly possible). Take decisive action (when necessary). Stay frosty. Randall
Posted in Officer Safety, Tactics
Tagged Drug Raid, Miami-Dade Police, Officer Safety, Police Ambush
Leave a comment
Looking for some NYC advice…
Hypothetically speaking, if I was in New York City for a few days (which I am), would I be in trouble if I showed up at La Guardia to check my firearm in luggage and had Speer Gold Dot hollow points in a manufacture’s container? My cousin, who is a Jersey cop, said they got a bulletin telling their guys not to carry hi-cap mags with hollow point bullets into the City, because NYC changed the laws in February to make these mags and bullets illegal with no provisions for LEOSA carry. I can’t seem to find anything on this online. Of course this is a purely an intellectual exercise, … Continue reading
Posted in Concealed Carry, Florida Companies, Misc.
Tagged Concealed Firearms Carry, LEOSA, New York City
3 Comments
Search Incident to Arrest? Not for Cell Phones.
You may have heard yesterday that the Florida Supreme Court ruled a police search of a cell phone incident to arrest violates a person’s right to privacy and is therefore illegal. In Smallwood vs. State (No. SC-11-1130), justices decided 5-2 to eliminate the practice. In reference to Smallwood vs State, Cedric Tyrone Smallwood was arrested by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office for a convenience store robbery. Ofc. Ike Brown looked in Smallwood’s cell phone in a search incident to Smallwood’s arrest. Seeing possibly incriminating photographs of Smallwood with a handgun and what looked like the stolen money, packaged as described by the victim clerk, JSO investigators applied for and received a … Continue reading
Posted in Legal, Street
Tagged Cell Phone Search, Florida Supreme Court, Smallwood vs State of Florida
Leave a comment
Counterfeit Money and the Patrol Officer
I was lucky to have taken a class in Fraudulent Documents when I was a detective. I found the entire subject riveting (really). Back at my agency, I get requests to examine currency for the officers when they are on counterfeit calls. I try to pass along some basics to the patrolmen, because there are a few shortcuts to identifying real money from fake. Quick ground school on the Federal Reserve Note: “Paper” currency is made from 75% cotton and 25% linen. To be durable and hard to reproduce, U.S. currency is more cloth than traditional paper, which is made largely from wood cellulose. The counterfeit pens you see used … Continue reading